Online Banking: How to Use It to Your Advantage

Online banking has been a part of the Swiss banking scene for some time. But most Swiss still make use of physical banking services – at the counter, via conventional mail or via telephone.

What many people do not know is that some banks offer discounts to customers who limit their banking activity to online banking.

The UBS private account has a standard monthly fee of 7 francs (84 francs per year), but this is reduced to 5 francs (60 francs per year) if you choose the online banking only option.

Then there are possible fees for paper statements sent by post. Nearly all Swiss banks let you avoid these fees by opting for electronic statements instead. Postage costs come to 0.85 centimes per statement for "b" post, and many banks add an administrative fee to that. If you plan to bank online only, you can specify this in the moneyland.ch bank account comparison and cost reductions will automatically be applied to comparison results.

Also pay attention to fees for over-the-counter services. Most banks do not charge fees for transfers performed online, either within Switzerland or abroad (using SEPA). However, some banks do charge you fees when you have these transfers made at a branch office.

Trading fees and charges also vary in a big way between banks. Trade orders made at a branch office or over the telephone often cost more than those made online. The moneyland.ch trading comparison uses the lower online trading fees for comparisons.

More on this topic:
Online broker comparison
Private account comparison